Diego's Counterpoint
by Nonnihil Scelestus
Summary: Diego finds a mate.


**Disclaimer: I dont own the characters. I'm just playing for a while.**

**Diego's Counterpoint**

She watched from a ledge as the mammoth, sloth and saber went by. She was sure the saber at least would have noticed her presence, but as they passed by, she remained hidden. She had been tracking a pack of sabers that had attacked the humans for weeks now. The lone saber, mammoth, and sloth had dispatched them. She approved of these actions. The same sabers had attacked her family while she was hunting. Her younger brother, who was still a cub, and her mother were killed for supposedly being in their territory. Of course her family didn't have a territory of their own. They were outcasts, just because they were black and the rest of the sabers were tawny.

She watched for a while longer before stretching and moving on her way. It was just coincidence that she was traveling the same direction as the mammoth, sloth and saber. She trotted along the upper ledge until she caught up and then passed them, when they stopped for the night. Getting a good ways ahead, she found a safe place to sleep and curled up for the night.

When morning came, it found her sound asleep. She didn't wake until something tickled her nose. Always one to bite first, ask later, she bit and quickly spit out some leaves from a tree branch. She wiped her tongue off with her paw and looked up and up to see the mammoth, sloth and saber. The saber spoke first.

"Why are you following us?" he asked.

"I'm not. I just happen to be going the same direction as you." She answered defensively.

"Don't you have a pack?" the mammoth asked while looking around suspiciously. The saber nudged him hard in the leg and the mammoth looked contrite for a moment.

"No, I don't. I'm an outcast. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way." With that, she started to walk off.

"Why don't you travel with us then?" The sloth spoke up. She stopped and looked back at them.

"Do you really want me to?" She asked and all three nodded. "Alright."

"I'm Diego, by the way. This is Manny, and the sloth is Sid." The saber introduced as they started off together.

"I'm Tristan." Diego smiled at her as they walked.

Meltdown 

"So, Sid how goes the camp thing?" Tristan asked trying to hold back a laugh as the kids buried him in the sand.

"Great, they love me, but I wouldn't mind some help out of here." Sid answered. Manny reached over and pulled him out with his trunk.

"Are you even qualified to run a place like this?" Diego asked.

"No qualifications necessary. I'm great at this." The kids tied a vine around his legs and Tristan couldn't hold back her laughter any longer. "I'll show you!" Sid glared as he hopped off. Manny decided to help out and started to tell the kids a story. Tristan snuggled up on a rock next to him to listen. Diego hopped up next to her, to listen as well. When Manny finished the story, the children weren't happy with the ending and started to argue until one shouted that someone was going down the eviscerater. They all looked up to see Sid about to jump. Manny, Diego, and Tristan went up to try and get him to come back down. Sid refused and Diego wouldn't go near the water. They all realized that the dam of ice wasn't going to last much longer. The ice began to crack and they had no choice but to go down the slide together. Diego clung Manny's back with Sid. Tristan made a quick leap and Manny wrapped his trunk around her tucking her close as they slid. They made it to the bottom in one piece and Manny had to remind Diego to retract his claws. Diego looked contrite and apologized.

They convinced the rest of the animals to head toward the other end of the valley. Sid teased Diego endlessly about his fear of water as Tristan listened in. While she didn't fear the water, and she knew how to swim, she didn't love it either. Cats and water did not mix. She trotted ahead to chat with Manny for a while and when she looked back, Diego and Sid were chasing something. She mentioned it to Manny, but he just shrugged.

"They'll catch up." That was when the she mammoth dropped in front of them. Tristan was stunned and so was Manny.

"I know, I know. Sometimes it's just difficult to stay in your tree, but have you seen my brothers?" She asked. Just then Diego and Sid appeared chasing a pair of possums. The possums jumped onto the she mammoth's tusks and pelted Diego with another set of rocks. Tristan didn't like it. She jumped in front of Diego taking the next rock meant for him, on her side. She snarled at them.

"Do it again and I'll have no problem killing you." Tristan said through clenched teeth. The possums stopped and looked guilty for about two seconds, before the grinned.

"What's a matter Diego, cant stand up for yourself? Have to have mommy do it for you?" They taunted. Diego was sitting in a relaxed position. He deliberately started washing a paw casually before he answered.

"She's not my mother boy's, she's my wife. And while I enjoy playtime as much as them next saber, she doesn't have my sense of humor, or my patience." Both boy's looked apologetic.

"We're sorry, it wont happen again." Tristan nodded and relaxed as well.

"He was kidding though, I have more patience than he does." The boys gulped before giving small smiles.

They traveled to the other end of the valley and almost made it onto the wood 'ark' when Elle decided to take a different way to the boat. She didn't want to go through the geysers. Things turned ugly and she was caught in a rockslide. Manny managed to save her from drowning. The two possums made it to a large branch in the water but couldn't make it to the other side. Sid jumped in to save them but he wasn't strong enough to swim against the current. Tristan jumped in and managed to latch on to the three of them, and Diego jumped in a minute later. He couldn't let his mate drown. The two of them managed to pull Sid, and the boys to safety and watched for Manny and Elle to come out of the water. There was great rejoicing when they were all safe on land.

The other mammoths came through the crack in the wall. Elle really wanted to go with them. Manny wanted to stay with her, but he didn't want to leave Diego, Tristan, and Sid. He debated and when Elle moved, he stayed because he already had a herd. Both Tristan and Diego told him to go after her. He deserved some happiness too. Manny tried to hang from the tree and Elle laughed at him, but she came back to him. They had formed their own herd.


End file.
